TRACK & FIELD NEWS

Saturday, May 23, 2015Winfield, Hurricane fit to be tied for girls track titlebyRick Ryan, Assistant Sports EditorTwo of the six state champions were decided in the set of meet-ending 4x400-meter relays, and one of those ended up in a dramatic dead heat Saturday as Putnam County neighbors and rivals Hurricane and Winfield tied for the Class AAA girls title at Laidley Field.It marked the first tie for a state track title since Parkersburg South and Wheeling Park were Class AAA boys co-champions in 1988. The last time it happened in a girls meet was 1983 when Parkersburg and Parkersburg South tied for the AAA crown.The other titles Saturday went to Martinsburg (boys AAA), Ritchie County (boys AA), Doddridge County (boys A), upstart Berkeley Springs over defending champion Bridgeport (girls AA) and Tucker County (girls A).Five more meet records were also set Saturday to go along with the four broken on Friday as the meet was again graced with excellent weather.The day also served as a curtain call for some of the Kanawha Valley’s finest individual talent, including Poca senior weight thrower Christian Buckley (boys AA) and St. Albans senior sprinter-hurdler Anacia Hines (girls AAA).Buckley won his final event, the discus at a meet-record 180 feet, 9 inches, his sixth state championship overall, but wound up 10 inches shy of Randy Barnes’ all-class state meet mark of 181-7 set in 1985. Hines dashed to victory in the 100 and 200 as well as the 100 high hurdles.The talk of the meet, however, were the fantastic finishes in girls AAA and AA.Winfield, trailing by eight points entering the 4x400, needed a second-place finish to catch Hurricane, which didn’t have a team qualified in the event. However, because illness affected their time in last week’s regional meet, the Generals had to run Saturday from the slow heat.They still managed a season-best time of 4:06.35, which was good enough for second to Cabell Midland’s 4:06.01 and good enough to earn a share of the team championship. “What can I say? I’m overwhelmed,’’ said Winfield coach David Bailey, a huge grin crossing his face. “They should be thanking the Lord we weren’t in the fast heat.“I’m just totally overwhelmed. It’s heart, heart and heart. Our kids have a heart as big as this place. I’m just totally overwhelmed. You can’t imagine. It’s a total team effort with just 13 kids running this meet.’’Even though the Generals had shaded defending state champ Hurricane by seven points in the Gazette/Friends of Coal Relays, by one point in the MSAC championships and by three points in last week’s Region 4 meet, they were still regarded by many as a decided underdogs. RunWV.com, in fact, listed the Redskins as a 20-point favorite.“It’s incredible what they accomplished,’’ Bailey said. “When you see them every day and see what they’ve got and what’s inside them, they’ll do what it takes. “To be this close [with Hurricane], battling them down to the last events and it’s been that way for what, the last four, five meets? I’ll tell them, ‘I want to take this trophy home. You won it last year. Just let me take it home.’ ’’Winfield actually lost a coin flip with Hurricane after the meet for possession of the title trophy, but the SSAC will mail another to the Generals.Hurricane put itself in position to hold on for the tie and co-championship when Anna Gordon won the 800 meters in 2:17.25 with two events left. Neither the Redskins nor the Generals scored in the 200 dash, so that left Hurricane with an 81-73 lead entering the 4x400.Gordon said she didn’t feel any extra pressure with the team title riding on her effort, or with Winfield’s Mary Zulauf (who finished third) running right alongside. “I just did my best. That’s all I can do,’’ Gordon said. “As long as I do that, I can’t do anything else about it.“It makes me feel so happy, but I know it’s the team and not just me. Everybody did everything they could to come out with a state championship. We couldn’t do it without our coaches — they’ve put so much into this past month, giving us all their time, and all the parents that helped out. Everybody was a big impact in this.’’Zulauf, who led the 400, was Winfield’s only event winner on Saturday. Lauren London (pole vault), Abby Watson (shot put) and the 4x100 team all posted victories for Hurricane.The second-best race of the day came in girls AA, where Berkeley Springs pulled one of the biggest upsets in recent state meet history, shading defending champ Bridgeport 69 1/3-69.The Indians were predicted to romp by 60 points in RunWV.com calculations, but they suffered a big blow when sophomore sprinter McKenna Smith was unable to go this weekend because of shin splints. She held some of the state’s top times in the 100, 200 and 400.Still, Berkeley Springs needed some magic of its own in the 4x400 relay, trailing Bridgeport 69-61 1/3. Bridgeport had not qualified for the event, so a win or second place would provide a margin of victory for Berkeley Springs, and anchor runner Ashley Griffin did just that, passing a North Marion runner with her final strides to take second in the race behind Keyser.“That’s the best 400 I ever ran in my life,’’ Griffin said to her teammates afterward.Buffalo’s boys team attempted to join the Putnam County party Saturday, battling four-time defending titlist Doddridge County, but came up short. The Bulldogs finished with 72 points, trailed by Williamstown (62) and Buffalo (61).The Bison trailed Doddridge 50-49 after Jordan Tucker won his second straight 100 dash championship in the meet’s 13th event, but couldn’t keep up to capture its first state team title. Tucker, however, thinks the program has improved dramatically.“Last year,’’ Tucker said, “it was kind of like you know [Doddridge] was going to win, but this year, it’s close. It just shows how hard we’ve worked.’’In boys AAA, Martinsburg became a first-time winner in a field that was considered a free-for-all from the very beginning. The Bulldogs won just one event Saturday, the 4x100 relay, finishing with 55 points.Winfield (48) was the runner-up in a meet that saw 13 different schools win one of the 18 events.Ritchie County captured its fourth boys AA title in the last six years by compiling 78 points for a comfortable margin over Roane County and Poca (49 points each).Tucker County, as expected, rolled in the girls Class A meet with 89 1/3 points, trailed by Wheeling Central (50) and Charleston Catholic (45).Catholic’s girls provided two of the other meet records Saturday, as its 4x400 team was timed in 4:13.76 and Jordan Rothwell tied the high jump mark of 5-4.The other meet records Saturday belonged to Roane’s 4x400 team in boys AA (3:24.78) and Huntington’s Safiyyah Mitchell in the girls AAA 300 hurdles (43.67).Besides Hines, there were two other triple winners in Jayden Allender of Ritchie (boys AA 110 hurdles, 300 hurdles, high jump) and Clay-Battelle’s Hannah Carreon (girls Class A 100, 200, 100 hurdles).Other double winners included:Girls AAA — Abby Colbert, Jefferson (1,600, 3,200); Hurricane’s Watson (discus, shot put); Girls AA — Kayla Haywood, Bridgeport (100, 200);Girls A — Aiyana Kachmarek, Tucker County (shot, discus);Boys AAA — Jacob Kilgore, Spring Valley (400, 800);Boys AA — Poca’s Buckley (shot, discus); Zack Marcum, Scott (200, 400); Jason Weitzel, PikeView (1,600, 3,200); Nathan Stout, Gilmer County (shot, discus).Reach Rick Ryan at 304-348-5175 or rickryan@wvgazette.com or follow on Twitter @RickRyanWV.- See more at: http://www.wvgazette.com/article/20150523/GZ02/150529626/1115#sthash.8nNyIIkV.dpuf

Saturday, May 23, 2015Winfield makes late push to tie Hurricane for girls track titleBy NICK BROCKMAN FOR THE DAILY MAIL

CHARLESTON, W.Va. — A wild finish and a fraction of a second proved the margin between being crowned co-champions and finishing runner-up for the Winfield girls track team.The Generals earned eight points with a second-place showing in the West Virginia high school track and field state championship’s final event, the 4x400-meter relay, on Saturday evening to tie defending champ Hurricane for the AAA title.“My kids are phenomenal,” Winfield girls coach David Bailey said. “The work — I’m so proud of my kids. They’re unbelieveable. They fought and they scratched all day long and never quit. They don’t know what quit is. Trust me.”As Winfield celebrated its effort, Hurricane coach Jason Henley also tipped his cap to the Generals for coming from behind for a share of the title.“Hat’s off to them,” Henley said. “They made every opportunity work to their advantage today. They made themselves co-champions in a situation where it basically looked like we had finally gotten it done, and those Winfield girls went out there in that 4x4 and they got it done.”Hurricane entered the meet’s final event with an eight-point lead, but did not qualify a team to the state’s 4x400 relay, finishing fifth at the Region 4 championships. Winfield ranked as one of the state’s top relays, but with a slower regional qualifying time, the Generals ran from the event’s second, lower-seeded heat.Winfield won the first heat in 4:06.35 and waited to see if its time would stand up against the higher-seeded teams. Cabell Midland captured the latter heat in 4:06.01, with Washington finishing second in the heat, but with its time of 4:07.01, the Generals placed second in taking the needed eight points to tie.“I told my kids every point makes the difference, every one,” Bailey said.The Winfield 4x400 relay team included Sydney Hancock, Carly Hinkle, Taryn Napier and alternate Josee Erlandson, who was a late replacement for scheduled participant M.E. Zulauf.“(M.E.) just finished the 800 and I didn’t want to run her back-to-back like that,” Bailey said. “I thought I had one fresh kid left and I would give it a shot, and it paid off.”Erlandson, a Marshall commit, ran the second leg of the 4x400 relay and kept the Generals in contention.“We knew if we did get second, we would have tied, but if we would have got third, we would have lost,” Erlandson said. “We knew what we had to do and being in the first heat was pretty hard, but we ran our fastest.”If the suspense of waiting for the final times and places to be announced were not enough, there was discussion if Winfield would be disqualified. After running through the exchange zone, a Winfield runner attempted to exit the track as a Greenbrier East athlete followed. The Greenbrier East runner struck the Winfield runner in lane one and the Spartans runner briefly left the track to pass the exiting Generals athlete. A protest for impeding was later denied, though.Winfield’s championship effort began on the meet’s second day with a victory by Zulauf in the 400, placing ahead of the event’s favorite, Hurricane sophomore Anna Gordon. In the 800, Gordon rebounded to win the title, with Zulauf finishing third.Winfield earned 16 points in the pole vault behind Allie Perry (second), Shannon Riley (third) and Morgan Gray (fifth), while Hurricane senior Lauren London won the event with a height of 11-0.In throwing events, Redskins senior Abby Watson won the discus and shot put. She also ran as part of Hurricane’s record-setting shuttle hurdle relay team.In relays, Hurricane won the 4x100, while Winfield claimed the 4x800.Also, in Class AAA, St. Albans senior Anacia Hines finished as high-point winner, with victories in the 100, 200 and 100 hurdles.“I feel blessed and I thank God for everything, for giving me the talent and the strength to do it,” Hines said. “It makes me feel like all four years of working hard, practicing, it’s all worth it.”George Washington sophomore Malika Houston won the long jump with a leap of 17-4 ½. Houston placed second in the 100 hurdles, just .12 seconds behind Hines, and fifth in the 300 hurdles.Outside of the Kanawha Valley, Jefferson junior Abby Colbert finished as a double-winner with victories in the 1600 and 3200. Woodrow Wilson senior Emily Fedders, an Appalachian State commit, placed second in each event.Huntington junior Safiyyah Mitchell set a state meet record in winning the 300 hurdles with a time of 43.67 seconds.

Class AAHerbert Hoover senior Emilee Henry captured the title in the 400 and finished runner-up in both the 100 and 200, behind Bridgeport senior Kayla Haywood in each event.Fellow Huskie Bailey Aab claimed first in the high jump with a leap of 5-2.Independence senior Adriana Cook, a Marshall commit, won the 3200, with Berkeley Springs’ Kinsey Reed placing second. The pair of runners flipped position in the 1600, with Reed winning and Cook taking second.Berkeley Springs earned the team victory with 1/3-point advantage over Bridgeport, 69 1/3 to 69. Keyser placed third with 64 points.

Class ACharleston Catholic freshman Jordan Rothwell shined bright in her first-ever state meet appearance with a record-tying leap in the high jump. Rothwell cleared 5-2 to tie the meet record. After jamming her knee three weeks ago at the Gazette/Friends of Coal Relays, Rothwell rebounded to win the high jump.“We were hoping she could maybe get fourth,” Irish coach Scott Welch said. “We never anticipated a win in that thing.”In addition to Rothwell’s mark, Catholic set a state record in the 4x400 en route to placing third in the team standings.The Irish team of Payton Mullen, Peyton Keener, Sarah Carr and Mary Katherine Kay finished the 4x4 in 4:13.76, nearly two seconds faster than the former record. Kay, Mullen, Jordan Keener and Lia Preston teamed together to capture the 4x800.Catholic would have collected two points with a fifth-place showing in the 4x200, but the Irish were disqualified because of a transfer of baton out of the exchange zone. Coach Scott Welch appealed the decision and the team was awarded an opportunity to re-run, but the runners opted to forgo that chance, because the team’s athletes had remaining events to run.Sherman’s Amelia Sebok won the 3200, and she also finished runner-up in the 1600 and fourth in the 800.Hannah Carreon, a Clay-Battelle junior, finished as high-point winner with victories in the 100, 200 and 100 hurdles.- See more at: http://www.charlestondailymail.com/article/20150523/DM03/150529616/1378#sthash.4YjRVlMb.dpuf

Friday, May 22, 2015Hurricane girls lead AAA race after Day 1 of state track meetBy NICK BROCKMAN FOR THE DAILY MAIL

CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Records fell and titles captured, day one of the West Virginia high school track and field state championships featured plenty of excitement for Kanawha Valley teams, with Putnam County athletes leading the way.Hurricane held a six-point lead against Winfield in the girls AAA team standings at the conclusion of Friday’s day one events at University of Charleston Stadium. Redskins senior Abby Watson won the discus title and ran the second leg of Hurricane’s record-setting shuttle hurdle relay. In AA action, Poca’s Christian Buckley set a new state record in the shot put. Meanwhile, Buffalo junior Hayden Harrison won the Class A 3200-meter championship.For the defending champion Redskins, the day marked a good effort to begin the meet, but the team will need more of the same to hold off a talented, second-ranked Winfield squad.“We’ve got to have a good day two,” Hurricane coach Jason Henley said. “It’s not one of those like last year where we were up and we felt really, really good about being able to just kind of protect. We know that Winfield’s really strong in day two. They’ve got a lot of points out there on the board, so we’ve got a lot to do. We don’t get to go on cruise control by any means.”Watson captured the Kanawha Valley’s first championship of the meet by winning the discus with a throw of 132-5.“I’m super, super happy with my performances,” Watson said. “That’s the first time I’ve won discus. I came up short, runner-up two years in a row, so it felt good to finally close that off.”After claiming the discus victory, Watson contributed as part of Hurricane’s shuttle hurdle relay that finished in 1:00.88, beating the state meet record by three seconds.“Oh my gosh, three seconds under the state record and they were just so dominant,” Henley said. “They knew they were ready to bust one and it was a really good thing.”The relay team, comprised of Watson, Lauren London, Lexi Crompton and Audrey Barber, honed its fundamentals throughout the season in working toward the goal of a new record time, Watson said.“I was expecting us to beat it, but not by that much at all,” she said. “We’ve just been really working on our technique. All of us have been critiquing that and getting faster as the season goes along.”London, another member of the winning hurdle relay squad, also placed fourth in the long jump.Winfield earned its first victory behind the 4x800 relay team of M.E. Zulauf, Shannon Riley, Sydney Hancock and Rachel Englund, beating second-place Hurricane by 11 seconds.The Generals girls also placed third in the shuttle hurdle relay, while Winfield’s Hannah Cartwright and Carly Hinkle finished three-four in the high jump.In boys action for Winfield, Christian Smith won the high jump with a leap of 6-6. He also finished as runner-up in pole vault and placed fifth in long jump.Buffalo’s Harrison won the boys Class A 3200 in 9:28.04, finishing ahead of defending champion Hunter Riffle of Doddridge County behind a strong final 200 meters. Fellow Bison runner Jon Wileman also attained All-State status in placing fifth. Buffalo junior Jacob Easton placed fifth in shot put.Representing Poca, Buckley won the shot with a throw of 61-1 ½ beating his own former record of 59-7 ½ set last year. Fellow Dot thrower Chase Dotson placed second.Kanawha County athletes also shined in the meet’s first day, as George Washington sophomore Malika Houston won the AAA girls long jump with a leap of 17-4 ½. Capital junior Tristan Slater won his third straight AAA title in the pole vault with a height of 14-0. Slater also placed seventh in long jump.Herbert Hoover senior Bailey Aab captured the girls Class AA high jump championship with a height of 5-2.In addition to the Winfield and Hurricane girls, other area schools also performed strong in the 4x800 relay, as Cabell Midland (boys AAA) and Charleston Catholic (girls A) won titles. Buffalo’s boys finished runner-up in the Class A event.Other top, day-one individual performances included Catholic sophomore Hannah Gacek, who placed third in the 3200, and Nitro freshman Luke Nichols, who finished fifth in the high jump.- See more at: http://www.charlestondailymail.com/article/20150522/DM03/150529665/1420#sthash.8s1cpKbN.dpuf

Thursday, May 14, 2015 TRACK & FIELDClass AAA track and field regionals set for Thursday By NICK BROCKMAN FOR THE DAILY MAIL Hurricane stands atop the Class AAA girls state track and field standings, but Putnam County rival Winfield figures to challenge the Redskins at today’s Region 4 Championship, to be held at Cabell Midland.

The Redskins enter as defending state champions, currently ranked No. 1 by runwv.com, with Winfield listed second. The Generals, though, edged Hurricane by seven points at the Gazette/Friends of Coal Relays and a point at the Mountain State Athletic Conference Championships.

“We’ve spent a good part of the season making sure we have people where we want them heading into regionals,” Hurricane coach Jason Henley said. “Now, it’s just time to go out there and execute the game plan.

“It’s going to take a pretty big effort on the girls side with us going head-to-head with Winfield at regional and of course next week at state.”Seniors Abby Watson (throwing events), Audrey Barber (hurdles, long jump) and Lauren London (pole vault, long jump) return as some of the team’s top contributors in individual events, with one pleasant surprise in sophomore Anna Gordon, who ranks first statewide in the 400-meter run and 800.

“I thought she would have a good year in the 400,” Henley said, “but she’s just so good right now in the 400 and the 800, and she’s actually contributing to our 4x200, which is something totally new for her.

”Winfield will combat Hurricane’s top-end talent with depth, as well as its own group of potential All-State athletes.

“We fight to the finish, that’s all I know,” Generals coach David Bailey said. “I think there’s always room for improvement. We work at it all the time.

”One area in particular will set the stage for Winfield, Bailey said.

“Our middle distance is big for us, it’s a key for us,” he said.

Winfield’s 4x800 relay team ranks first in the state, with its 4x400 relay second. M.E. Zulauf, Sydney Hancock and Shannon Riley individually list among the state’s top 10 in various middle distance events.

The Generals also boast strength in field events. Senior Allie Perry leads the state in pole vault, with teammates Morgan Gray and Shannon Riley tied for fourth. Carly Hinkle and Hannah Cartwright each rank in the top five in high jump.

Beyond Winfield and Hurricane, fifth-ranked Huntington and No. 8 St. Albans will also contend for points in the girls team battle.

Senior Anacia Hines, ranked first statewide in the 100, 200 and 100 hurdles, will lead the Red Dragons. Sophomore Rachel Beck will look to advance individually in the 400 and 800.

On the boys side, Hurricane again poses the top threat as the highest-rated team at No. 2 in the state, though Cabell Midland lists fifth, with Winfield eighth and Point Pleasant 10th.

For the Redskins, senior Jared Zickafoose, who is ranked in the 100 (first) and 200 (third) and runs on Hurricane’s top-ranked 4x100 and 4x200 relays, has played a large part in the team’s success.

With Zickafoose leading Hurricane in sprints, Jake Henley will pace the team in distance events and Brian Hughes in high jump.

At Winfield, senior Christian Smith will look to score points in pole vault, high jump and long jump, as he lists among the state’s top 10 in each event.

With Midland coach Chris Parsons’ tradition of distance running success, Jason Henley said he never discounts the Knights’ chances.“I’ve been at this long enough and I respect coach Parsons enough that I know that if Midland is in the hunt, they’re going to be right there,” he said.

Five Knights runners rank in the top 10 for middle distance and distance events, with Will Sheils (400, 800) and Jeremiah Parlock (800, 1600) ranked in multiple events.

Other teams in attendance at today’s Region 4 meet include Lincoln County, Nitro and Spring Valley.

For a week at least, the state’s track capital resides in Putnam County.

Three schools from that county captured team championships Saturday as the 80th Gazette/Friends of Coal Relays concluded under perfect weather at Laidley Field.

Winfield knocked off No. 1-ranked Hurricane to take the girls Class AAA crown, while Buffalo likewise outdueled top-ranked Doddridge County for the boys single-A title and Hurricane survived a scrum to earn the boys AAA trophy. Five more meet records were set Saturday to go with the 10 that took place Friday.

The other team champs were Roane County (boys AA), Bridgeport (girls AA) and Doddridge (girls A). The only titles that weren’t repeats from last year were Buffalo’s and Hurricane’s boys.

Success at the two-day Gazette/Friends of Coal Relays doesn’t assure success in the state meet — not every part of the state was represented this weekend — but with a field of 90-plus teams and more than half the state’s ranked squads, it’s a pretty good indicator of strength.

Winfield girls coach David Bailey didn’t need to be reminded that his program won the Gazette Relays title last year, but finished second to Hurricane in the state meet. Still, the RunWV.com power rankings had the Generals as a decided underdog to the Redskins this week.

“It was a great effort by my kids,’’ Bailey said. “They work hard and gave us great effort, super effort, and that’s all you can ask. They reached down and gave it all. I appreciate them coming out and competing as a small [AAA] school.

“But there’s still a lot of people to run yet. I know Morgantown and Brooke and Wheeling Park and all these other schools weren’t here, and you just take it one meet at a time. Hurricane has a tough team, too. They’ve got a lot of quality points, and it’s hard to combat that.’’

Winfield won just two events Saturday, but had enough high finishes to eke out a 120-113 margin over the Skins. The Generals’ victories came from pole vaulter Allie Perry and the 4x400 relay, which cemented the team title by capturing the final track event.

Hurricane led five events — two by middle distance ace Anna Gordon in the 400 and 800 — and set another record with Abby Watson’s heave of 44 feet, 4 inches in the shot put. The Skins set an all-time state mark of 1:02.07 in the shuttle hurdles Friday night.

Buffalo, the No. 3 team in boys Class A, picked up more three wins on Saturday and weathered a relays disqualification that wiped out another high finish to pile up 144 points for an impressive margin over runner-up Doddridge (99), the defending meet and state champ. South Harrison (77) was third.

Jordan Tucker blazed to a meet-record clocking of 11.12 seconds in the 100-meter dash and ran a leg on the Bison’s victorious 4x100 relay. Ian Parsons headed the 300-meter hurdles.

“I felt like we were capable,’’ said Buffalo coach Richie Wyant. “We’ve seen a lot of good competition early this year and with the Internet the way it is and knowing the times that other people have out there, going into an event like this you have an idea of what you needed to do, and we prepared for it.’’

Wyant agreed that this weekend’s effort could provide the Bison with a confidence going into the upcoming postseason meets.

“We need to shore up some things,’’ he said. “We’re not where we want to be yet. Doddridge County still in my mind, they’re the top dog and have been for a number of years, and rightfully so. We want to get there with those guys, be that kind of team every year that people are talking about.

“We’ve had some kids banged up who are just now starting to get back, so hopefully that’ll give us a boost going into the regionals and states.’’

Another record in the boys single-A meet Saturday came from South Harrison freshman flash Freddy Canary, who matched his own meet mark time of 22.56 seconds in the 200 dash that he set in Friday’s qualifiers.

Hurricane’s boys, meanwhile, had just enough points (66) to nudge past Cabell Midland (58) and a host of other contenders to grab the AAA crown.

George Washington (45) finished third and Winfield (44) fourth on a day in which four different teams were at the top at one point, and that didn’t include the complete presence of No. 1-ranked Parkersburg South and defending state champ Parkersburg, who didn’t field their entire squads this weekend.

Sprinter Jared Zickafoose proved key for the Skins in their title run, as he won the 100, placed second in the 200, anchored the victorious 4x200 relay and ran a leg on the second-place 4x100 squad.

Roane County earned its title in AA boys by winning the final event, the 4x400, while Bridgeport placed third. The Raiders wound up edging the Indians 104-102 for the top spot, with Poca (75) third. Troy Fisher aided Roane’s cause by taking the 400 and 800.

The Dots’ Christian Buckley tacked on another meet record Saturday, whirling the discus 185 feet, 4 inches, just a foot shy of his own all-time state record set earlier in the week at a meet in Huntington.

The Gazette Relays’ most dominant performance came from the Bridgeport girls in Class AA. The Indians won 11 of the 18 events and amassed 206 1/2 points, more than doubling runner-up Roane (83), with Herbert Hoover (67) third.

Bridgeport also chipped in a meet mark as sophomore McKenna Smith zipped through the 200 in 25.39 seconds, breaking a record initially set in 1981 and tied in ’94 and ’99. Kayla Haywood had two sprint wins for the Indians and took high-point honors in the division.

Another decisive verdict came in girls Class A, as Doddridge (152) finished far ahead of Tyler Consolidated (98) and Charleston Catholic (97). The Irish, though. won three of the five relays.

Rosa Plaugher donated two of the Bulldogs’ six event wins by leading both individual hurdle races and loaning the anchor leg to a shuttles victory.

The meet’s only four-event winner was Atiya Spaulding of Chesapeake (Ohio), who led the 100, 200, high jump and long jump in girls A.

The track postseason must be getting closer, because things are starting to get jumbled.

Take the opening day of the 80th Gazette/Friends of Coal Relays Friday at Laidley Field.

The pre-meet indicators hinted that defending state champion Hurricane would handle all comers with ease in the girls Class AAA division, with Putnam County rival Winfield a somewhat distant second.

But the Generals roughed up that reasoning right off the bat, taking the 4x800-meter relay and relegating the Redskins to second. Did that signal the start of some strange things happening across the board this weekend? It remains to be seen.

Other showdowns to keep an eye on when the meet resumes today are the boys AAA division, where No. 1 Parkersburg South is getting a big push from Winfield; boys AA, with as many as a half-dozen teams in the running; and boys single-A, where No. 1-ranked Doddridge County and No. 3 Buffalo tangle.

Through six final events on Friday, Hurricane holds a tenuous 42-37 advantage over Winfield in girls AAA, led by Abby Watson’s winning heave in the discus (139 feet, 1 inch), a record-setting run by the Redskins in the shuttle hurdles (1:02.07), which broke the old mark by an impressive 2 1/2 seconds, and Lauren London’s victory in the long jump.

But the Generals, listed No. 2 behind Hurricane in the RunWV.com power rankings, sure had their moments, starting with the 4x800. In that event, with a time of 9:48.81, Winfield shaved more than 23 seconds off its previous season-best time to beat Hurricane, which owned the state’s top mark coming in.

Later, Winfield’s Mary Lawman turned in the second-best time in the 100-meter high hurdle qualifiers with a swift 15.40 seconds after entering the meet with only the state’s No. 10 clocking of 16.29. Her effort gives her a better lane assignment in today’s finals against the likes of Hurricane’s Lexi Crompton and Audrey Barber, among others.

And a 1-2 finish by the Generals’ Carly Hinkle and Hannah Cartwright in the high jump didn’t hurt, either.

Through Friday’s events, here’s a look at the other team races in the six-tiered meet, which mirrors the state meet in almost every aspect, including the order of events:

* Boys AAA — South and Winfield are tied atop the division with 30 points, followed by University (25) and Hurricane (23);

• Boys AA — Fairland (Ohio) is giving the field a run for its money, sitting in front with 30 points, good enough for an early margin over Bridgeport (29) and Poca (28);

• Boys A — Buffalo (52) has vaulted into a surprising sizable lead against No. 1 Doddridge (29), with Gilmer County (28) also in striking distance;

• Girls AA — Bridgeport (35 1/2) is currently holding off Herbert Hoover (22) for the lead, with Fairland (Ohio) also contending with 21 points;

• Girls A — Doddridge County (51) has a huge edge over Trinity Christian (22).

• • •

Ten meet records were set Friday, four in boys Class A, as the athletes prospered under excellent weather conditions — partly sunny skies and temperatures in the high 60s.

South Harrison freshman Freddy Canary breezed to times of 11.19 and 22.56 seconds in the 100- and 200-meter dash qualifiers to break a pair of 12-year-old Gazette Relays marks. Also doubling up in boys A, Nathan Stout of Gilmer County put the shot 51-11 and flipped the disc 165-5 to eclipse his own meet records. His discus distance marked a personal best.

The other records Friday were Cabell Midland completing the boys AAA 4x800 relay in 8:01.67, Capital’s Tristan Slater taking the AAA boys pole vault at a record-equaling 15 feet, Poca’s Christian Buckley in the boys AA shot put (60-5), the Doddridge County girls in the Class A shuttle hurdles (1:10.57) and Olivia Hill of Teays Valley Christian in the girls A 3,200 (11:09.65).

Other Kanawha Valley athletes capturing events Friday included:

- Bailey Aab of Hoover in the girls AA high jump at 5-3, bettering her own season best by 5 inches;

- Charleston Catholic’s girls and boys each taking the day’s first final events in Class A, the 4x800 relays;

- Buffalo’s Hayden Harrison capturing the boys single-A 3,200;

- Poca’s shuttles team prevailing in boys AA.

The meet resumes today at 9 a.m. with field events and 10 a.m. with running events, beginning with the 400 dash.

After today’s meet, the countdown is less than two weeks until regionals are held around the state and fewer than three weeks until the state meet at Laidley (May 22-23).

A couple of high-jump careers are on the rise, along with a budding rivalry.

Parkersburg South’s Evan DeGraef edged Winfield’s Christian Smith in Friday’s finals. DeGraef and Smith each cleared 6 feet, 6 inches, but Smith came up short on his final jump at 6-8 to give DeGrauf the win.

The rivals have made a habit of setting similar marks, dating back to last season. They each cleared 6-5 at the same time last year, with DeGraef taking second in the state meet with a 6-4 jump, while Smith placed fourth (6-2).

This season, DeGraef and Smith have raised the bar — literally. They both cleared 6-8 earlier in the year to sit tied for first in the latest RunWV.com poll.

“Its been two years back and forth, basically,” said DeGraef. “This is my first time jumping against him this year. It’s good to jump here and good to have some competition, finally.”

Smith echoed his sentiments.

“We have some sportsmanship,” he said. “I haven’t been to any other meets where there’s been any other competition and it’s the same situation with him. But it still does motivate me when I see [DeGraef’s] mark on RunWV.”

Even though DeGraef took round one, he and Smith are looking to keep climbing.

“Last meet, at 6-9, I kind of wasted two jumps,” said Smith. “And I had it cleared until my calves.”

“By the end of the year, I think I have a chance at getting 6-11,” added DeGraef. “I’m hoping for it. I think I’m close to it.”

Next-door neighbors and rivals Hurricane and Winfield are used to giving each other a run for their money.

However, when the 80th Gazette/Friends of Coal Relays begins today at Laidley Field, those familiar foes won’t be just battling for bragging rights in their Putnam County backyard, but for the entire state.

The Redskins and Generals are again considered the top two contenders in the girls Class AAA meet as the prestigious two-day Gazette Relays cranks up at 4 p.m. with the 4x800-meter relay and select field events.

Hurricane is the No. 1 team in the RunWV.com power rankings, with Winfield right behind. It’s getting to be old hat for the two, vying for team honors in big meets. Last year, the Generals edged the Redskins for the Gazette Relays title, only to see Hurricane flip it around later that month and capture the state meet crown.

“It’s been a blessing to have our main competition within our county,’’ said Hurricane coach Jason Henley. “We see them quite a bit of the time. [Winfield coach David Bailey] and I remarked that it’s good for both of our kids.

“We’re serious about the Gazettes, but we don’t want to lose focus on what the season is about. We walked out of the Gazettes and lost to Winfield last year, but three weeks later we came out as state champ. We’re mindful of the importance of the Gazettes, but we know it’s not championship time, and our whole season is about championship time.’’

The Gazette/FOC Relays, which this year features 90 different teams and nearly 1,300 athletes, is considered as close to a dry run for the state meet as you can get, right down to the two-day format, order of events and keen competition in all six meets.

Besides the Putnam County power play, other highlights of the Relays figure to be:

Wood County rivals Parkersburg and Parkersburg South locking up in the boys AAA meet. The Big Reds are the defending state champions, but the Patriots are No. 1 in the RunWV.com power rankings.

Capital pole vaulting sensation Tristan Slater inching his way toward the state’s all-time record of 17 feet, established 20 years ago. Slater, who has cleared 16-6 and 16-7 this season, is set to vault at 8 tonight.

A high-flying high jump battle that could ensue in boys AAA tonight, as both Evan DeGraef of Parkersburg South and Christian Smith of Winfield have cleared 6-8.

A pair of small-school weight tossers who have their sights set on breaking their own Relays marks — Poca’s Christian Buckley, a two-time AA state champ in the shot put and discus, has set respective personal bests this year of 60-8 3/4 and 179-3, each better than his own existing meet marks. Likewise Nathan Stout of Class A Gilmer County, with his season bests of 56-1 and 163-0.

Capital’s Peyton Panger, who owns the state’s top times in the all three girls Class AAA individual distance events — the 800 (2:20.26), 1,600 (5:07.42) and 3,200 (11:21.91).

Bridgeport standout sophomore sprinter McKenna Smith, who has run faster than any Class AA girl this season in the 100, 200 and 400 and figures to make the Indians the favorite in their division.

The competition should be stiff in most classes, as 32 state-ranked teams in all will be sending representatives to Laidley, including five of the six current No. 1 teams — Parkersburg (boys AAA), Hurricane (girls AAA), Roane County (boys AA), Bridgeport (girls AA) and Doddridge County (boys A). The only one missing is Tucker County (girls A),

Hurricane can lean on some dynamic talent as it attempts to take the AAA girls crown.

The Redskins feature weight thrower Abby Watson, middle distance ace Anna Gordon, vaulter-high jumper Lauren London and some crack relay teams — four of which are ranked among the state’s top four.

“We always use the Gazettes as a measuring stick for what we want to be doing three weeks later at the state meet,’’ Henley said. “Because of the format of the meet, we can set up things in a state-meet type of situation. I know our kids aren’t in peak form right now, but this gives us our best run-through for what we want to do in a few weeks.’’

Gordon, a sophomore, presents an intriguing athlete whom Hurricane’s coaches can plug into several events, as she ranks among the state’s leaders in everything from the 200 dash (26.80, seventh-best), to the 400 (58.73, first) and the 800 run (2:25.48, second).

“She’s a unique talent,’’ Henley said. “She was an all-state cross country runner as a freshman and has the range to be able to go from the 200 through probably the 1,600, though we haven’t ventured her there yet.’’

Thc AAA divisions of the Gazettes might wind up being the best barometers for the May 22-23 state meet, as nine top-10 boys teams are on hand this weekend and six in girls. The only other meet with more than half the ranked teams present is boys AA with seven.

One of Roane’s key pieces, defending state 400 champion Troy Fisher, has already run a time of 49.41 seconds this season, a smidge behind the Gazette Relays record of 49.40 set by Poca’s Jason Redman in 1997. Fisher is also a contender in the 300 hurdles and long jump.

WINFIELD — The legacy of “Hurdle Man” shined bright on Friday night at Winfield’s annual track and field meet, now named the Dick Dunlap Classic.

Formerly known as the Winfield Classic, the meet was renamed in honor of the program’s long-time volunteer hurdles coach Dick “Hurdle Man” Dunlap, who passed away Dec. 8. Both the Winfield boys and girls captured team titles, as the Generals secured victories in three of six hurdles events, too.

Though Winfield finished on top in the standings, it was not the most important conclusion to the meet, and that’s how Dunlap would have preferred.

“Dick had a passion, not only for track, but for these kids,” Generals boys track coach Shawn Anderson said. “Track was his thing, but he also wanted them to understand where he’s come from, his background and his faith. I think that’s more important than what we’re out here teaching them on the track.”

A successful hurdler in his own right in his formative days, Dunlap was a hurdler on three state championship teams at Dunbar from 1957-59. He also was a West Virginia Conference hurdles champion for West Virginia State in 1962. However, Dunlap left his mark on the kids he directed during his 34-year coaching career, with 16 years at South Charleston and the last 18 at Winfield.

Winfield girls track coach David Bailey said Dunlap quietly introduced himself to the program but left a lasting impression.

“I noticed him standing along the fence and after everything was over, he asked me ‘You mind if I help you?’ and he asked me if he could help us a little bit with the hurdles,” Bailey said. “I said ‘Sure, go ahead.’ He started coming down and he would help with the hurdles. One day I walked over and I said ‘Hey, how would you like to come do this all the time?’ We talked and the next thing I know, he was part of it.”

Through the years, Dunlap played a significant role in seven boys state championship teams, six girls state championship teams, had 16 individual state champions and seven shuttle hurdle relay championships. Dunlap coached the unknown athletes and those who later made a career in sports, including former Marshall cornerback Carl Lee and West Virginia University running back Robert Alexander, who both played in the NFL.

“He would always get the best out of them,” Bailey said. “His ability to relate to kids was second to none. It was just unbelievable.”

One of Dunlap’s state champions includes Winfield senior Josee Erlandson, the reigning champ in the 300 hurdles.

Dunlap’s instructions still resonate with her, as she imparts his advice to the Generals’ younger hurdlers.

“Whatever he taught us, we teach them in practices, and it’s like he’s still here with us,” she said. “He’s still with us and in all of us.”

“He was a life mentor,” he said. “If you learned how to run hurdles after being around him, that was just a plus. It wasn’t really about the hurdles. It was about investing in the kids’ lives.

“That’s what was so impressive about coach Dunlap, just how genuine of a man he was and how much he cared about all the kids.”

That respect and appreciation for Dunlap prompted Martin and his younger brother Luke Martin, a 2012 Winfield grad, to assist Winfield as the Generals attempt to fill the void left by Dunlap. Cam Jividen, another former hurdler under Dunlap’s direction, has also volunteered this season to assist the Winfield hurdlers.

“Hurdle Man, he was a track coach, but he was more than a track coach,” Luke Martin said. “He taught us about life and he instilled in us — he taught us stuff on the track that applied to our daily lives as well, and I want to be able to do that. I want to be able to pay that forward and teach kids it’s not about being good at track, it’s about being good at life.

“If we can do half of what he did for us, I would say we’re going to be in good shape.”

The program’s new assistants helped to continue the hurdles success at Winfield on Friday, as sophomore Taryn Napier and junior Michael Null each won in their respective 300-meter hurdles events. Erlandson, known primarily for her success in the hurdles, did not run. Still, the Winfield girls manufactured another win in the shuttle hurdle relay.

As Winfield celebrated its victories and continued improvement toward this year’s state meet, for at least one night, the Generals program collectively reflected on the impact one man left whether that was athletically, spiritually or personally.

“Everybody that was lucky enough to meet him or be a part of his life, it’s just a blessing to say I knew the man and I was friends with him,” Anderson said.

Josee Erlandson (left) and Allie Perry (right) pose for a picture while signing their NLIs. (Picture provided by Allie Perry)

Perry, Erlandson sign NLIs for Marshall Universityby Jack Withrow

Recently, Winfield High School has had their fair share of student-athletes sign their National Letter of Intent to play at the next level. Earlier this week, two more put their pens to paper as seniors Allie Perry and Josee Erlandson signed to compete in track & field at Marshall University.

“I chose to go to Marshall because that’s the school I have been set on since I was younger.” said Perry.

Perry will enroll in the nursing program and concentrate in the pole vault event when she arrives on the Huntington campus next fall. But before she graduates her goal is a state championship.

“I would like to finish out this season as a state champion. It will take a lot of hard work and dedication but it’s been a goal of mine since day one.” Perry added.

Perry started out vaulting in the sixth grade. “I was terrible,” she said, “I couldn’t even clear the opening height.” However, by the end of her 8th grade year, she ended up setting the middle school record and improved by two feet her freshman year. Her current personal record is 10’-5”.

Senior Josee Erlandson also knew what her future would be at the next level. “I always knew I wanted to run in college and stay close to home.” Erlandson said, “My friends, family and coaches influenced me to run.”

Currently, Erlandson competes in the 4X100, 4X200 and shuttle relays as well as the 200 and 300 meter hurdles. Her personal best times are 16.40 in the 100 meter hurdles, 26.51 in the 200 meter hurdles and 46.10 in the 300 meter hurdles.

“My goal for this season would have to be to run my best and hopefully do well.” added Erlandson.

Erlandson, who was also a standout performer on Winfield’s state championship soccer team, will concentrate on running hurdles but is still undecided on what she will study at Marshall.

Both girls, along with their team will compete this week in the Semper Fi Classic at Laidley Field in Charleston.

Winfield senior Brian Gray will sign a national letter of intent to run cross country and track at the University of Charleston.The ceremony is scheduled for 11:45 a.m. on Wednesday in the school’s auxiliary gymnasium.

CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Winfield senior Christian Smith represents one of the state’s most versatile track and field athletes, competing in the high jump, long jump and pole vault, a unique set of events tied together by Smith’s passion for leaping.

Smith, a three-time Class AAA state meet qualifier in the high jump, soars gracefully through the air and past his competition, generating success in an unusual trio of events. Smith set a personal record Friday night in winning the high jump at Point Pleasant’s Paul Wood Memorial Invitational with a height of 6-8.

“They just seemed really interesting, more interesting than running around the track to me, especially because it involved jumping,” Smith said. “I just like jumping.”

At the 2014 state meet, Smith placed fourth in high jump, with a leap of 6-2; he finished seventh in pole vault, with a height of 13-0; and eighth in long jump, with a distance of 20-2 ¼.

“We’ve had several good ones come through and Christian is right up there with them,” Winfield boys track coach Shawn Anderson said. “He’s just got really good jumping ability. I was watching him the other day when he was over at long jump working on some stuff. We have plyo boxes out and he was out there stacking those plyo boxes on top of each other and jumping four or five. He’s got some definite leaping ability in his legs.”

The originations to Smith’s track and field success lie within a trampoline he had as a child.

“I think I remember always trying to jump as high as I could,” he said. “That’s probably it.”

By his freshman year, Smith said he decided to try track, and thus began the evolution to his unique set of skills.

“I started off with high jump and long jump because I had always felt like I could jump,” he said. “Those were going pretty well and then somebody introduced me into pole vaulting, and I thought that that would be a good idea, so I started that my sophomore year.”

At 6 feet tall, Smith brings height and an inherent leaping ability to his events.

“It’s mostly just that I jump all the time,” he said of the characteristics that set him apart from the competition. “Even if there’s no bar or anything, I jump. I play basketball and I can dunk. It’s mostly that and I play a lot of sports so it translates into track.

“I thought I was pretty natural, because the first time that I did high jump — it was at Point Pleasant — I got 5-6, and I was the best there,” Smith said.

In addition to natural talent, Anderson said Smith dedicates himself in each area to hone the necessary techniques for the different field events.

“We try to get him a day at least in each one, at least one day a week concentrating on each area,” Anderson said, “and sometimes on his own he’ll spend a little more time.

“He listens well, is very coachable, does what you ask him. He works hard at each discipline during practice, never really have to say a whole lot to him. That’s a good thing as a coach.”

Last season, Smith, despite placing fourth at the state meet, tied Parkersburg South’s Evan DeGraef with the best high jump of the season at 6-5. Smith said he had hoped to reach 6-6 this year, but with a new PR of 6-8 already in hand, Smith can now raise his own expectations in the high jump and focus his attention on increasing his leaps and raising the bar on the competition.

Monday, March 23, 2015Putnam girls again among AAA track and field favoritesBy NICK BROCKMANfor the Daily Mail

CHARLESTON, W.Va. — The road for the girls high school state track and field championship annually finishes in Charleston, but this season, as last year, the path travels through Putnam County.

Defending Class AAA champion Hurricane returns with plenty of talent in defense of its title, with Winfield a top contender, too, after finishing third in the team standings last year.

“It’s always been a blessing in my mind one of our biggest competitors in this whole thing is a cross-county rival, a team that we spend a lot of time competing against through the year,” Redskins coach Jason Henley said of Winfield. “I think that brings out the best in our squad and I think it brings out the best in theirs.”

Hurricane won the 2014 girls team title with a 23.5-point cushion over second-place Washington, with Winfield 2.5 points behind Washington, and the Redskins return the pieces to lead the field again.

“We return a really, really strong nucleus of people on the girls side and hope to be able to build on what we did last year, not just settle for that state championship last year,” Henley said.

Hurricane returns every member of its state champion shuttle hurdle relay in seniors Abby Watson, Audrey Barber, Chloe Papa and Lauren London.

Watson added an individual title with a state record throw of 42 feet, 9 inches in the shot put, and she placed second in the discus. Barber finished second in the 100-meter hurdles and long jump, while London placed third in long jump and fifth in pole vault. Watson, Barber and London will also look to provide Hurricane points in individual sprint events and sprint relays.

Freshman Jenna Crouch, an All-State cross country runner, lists among a talented distance group for the Redskins. Senior Joie Johnston, junior Abbie Short and sophomore Anna Gordon also return to run distance events after helping Hurricane to a fourth-place team in cross country.

Across Putnam County, Winfield coach David Bailey said he respects the Hurricane program and expects them to again lead the state.

“Hurricane’s pretty loaded,” he said. “I think they’re going to be the team that everyone has to deal with.”

The Generals expect to contend with the Redskins, though. Last season, Hurricane edged Winfield by five points for the Region 4 championship. Winfield’s 4x200 relay team, ranked fastest in the state at the time, missed an opportunity to score due to a disqualification via dropped baton.

“We would have stole the show,” Bailey said of the potential regional title. “I think we can maybe be a little bit better than we were last year, we’re hoping.”

Senior Josee Erlandson will lead the team in hurdles events after winning the 300 hurdles title last year. Junior Jordan Pauley, sophomore Taryn Napier and newcomer Mary Lawman will also contribute in hurdles events.

The Generals sport balance in running events, with talent in both sprints and long distance. At the 2014 state meet, Winfield finished runner-up in the 4x100 and 4x400, placing third in the 4x800.

This year, senior Sydney Hancock and juniors M.E. Zulauf and Carly Hinkle will be expected to lead the team in sprints.

Winfield boasts strength in distance events, too, as junior Rachael Englund, a key contributor to the Generals cross country program, returns, and sophomore Alyssa Rittinger will run track for the first time. Freshman Alexis Imperial will run track too after a successful cross country season.

In field events, senior Allie Perry anchors the squad in the pole vault. Perry finished second in the state last year. This year, she’ll be joined by freshmen Morgan Gray and Shannon Riley.

Hinkle and fellow junior Hannah Cartwright rank among the state’s best high jumpers, with each placing top-five last year.